Regulator for electric generators



Nov. 6, 1923. 1,472,873

E. J. KOHMAN REGULATOR FOR ELECTRIC GENERATORS Filed Nov. 17 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 @Hoz new Nov. e, 1923. 1,472,873

E. J. KOHMAN REGULATOR FOR ELECTRIC 4GENERATORS Filed Nov. 17. 1920 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 6,1923. v 1.472,87?,

E. J. KOHMAN REGULATOR FOR ELECTRIC GENERATORS Filed NOV. 17 192? 5 Sheets-Shee'b 3 gwuam To@ o? mm Patented Nov. 6. 1923.

UNITED STATES ERNEST J. KOHIVIAN, OF DILLON', KANSAS.

REGULATOR FOR ELECTRIC GENERATORS.

Application mea November 17, 1920. serial No. 424km To all whom z't may concern.'

Be it known that I, vERNEST J. KoHuAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Dillon, in the county of Dickinson, State of Kansas, have invented certain new and use* ful Improvements in Regulators `for Electric Generators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and lexact 4description of the. invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

yThis invention relates to hydro-electric plants and it has for its particular object to provide a plant that is particularly adapted for farm use, where it may beset up onthe bank of a stream of moderate size and remote from a dwelling if need be, and which will be automatic in the control of the speed of the water wheel in proportion to the load incident to variable current consumption.

The invention has further for its object to provide in connection with the usual water gate of a common type of turbine wheel andadynamo to be driven from the turbine wheel and a governor for regulation of the feed water, of means for compensating for removal of load incident to reduction in current consumption, thus to prevent injury to the armature.

Details of one successful embodiment of the invention are set forth below and shown in the drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a general elevation of this structure driven by ka turbine motor, the stream and dam being in section.

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical section through the head of the structure.

Figure 3 is a horiontal section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2. v

Figure 4 is a section on kthe line 1e-4; of Fi ure 3. y

igure' is a detail of the arms shown in i elevation in Figure .41.

Figure 6 is a detail on the line 6-6 of Fio'ure '3. f

roadly speaking, the elements of this structure are a. motor M `whose shaft S is connected with a dynamo E, the motor being a turbine wheel having a gate for regulating the iiow of water to the wheel. The v letter G designates broadly a `centrifugal governor mounted directly on the main shaft and coupled to and actuating both the water gate and therheostat that sub-V stitutes an artificial load when the true load is suddenly removed or reduced to a degree that effects excessive speed of the dynamol The turbineM includes the wheel 1 set within a stream 2 behind a dam 3 and hav? ing its axis vertical, and the control Cy for this motor is a gate 4 connected by a link 5 with an arm 6 projecting Vfrom a shaft 7, a 'lieXible shaft 8 leading upward from the latter to a gear or sector 9 which is actuated in a manner yet to be described.

The dynamo E includes an armature 10 which is iiXed to rotate in a horizontal plane on the upper end of the power shaft S, this armaturebeing adapted to rotatein the field of the magnets 10 that are carried by the ring 11 that constitutes the rannular wall of the casing which includes also the upper and lower plates 12 and 13 that are bolted. to the upper and lower edgesr respectively of the wall 11. The4 yshaft S carries at its upper end a race plate 14; that bears upon the balls 15 that engage y a race 16 on the `upper face of the plate 12,

thus to hold the shaft S with the armature in proper relation to the field magnet.

The dynamo is shunt wound as illustrated.

The brush carrierv 17 has aline feed wire 18 connected therewith and leading to one of the line wires 19 while the other' brush lholder '20 has connected to it a feed wire 21 that leads to the other line wire 22. One field winding terminal is connected to a wire 23 that leads t0 a rheostat 24 which is lo- 4cated at a point convenient to the load on the 22 with which is connected the feed wire 21 leading from the brush carrier 2O.`

The load on the circuit wires 19 and 22 is represented'by the motor 25l and the bank of lamps 26 connected across the line circuit Y at opposite sides of the point of vconnection of the feed wire 21" with theline wire 22. Between the feed wire21 and the motor 25 is a cut out switch 27 while a similar cut out switch 28 is disposed in `therlinev Wire 22 between the bank of lamps 26. and the lloo feed Wire 2l', whereby a part of the load may be cut out without correspondinply affecting the remainder' of the load.

It will be understood, of course, that if a considerable part of the load were suddenly removed from the line circuit, and with the torque of the shaft S unchanged, the arma-- ture would speed up with the well known injury incident thereto.

Vith the present invention, when the dynamo speeds up to a dangerous degree, the Water supply to the turbine is automatically closed down. Now the closing,` down of the water supply in a whole or in considerable part, requires a considerable period of time, sufficient to permit of injury to the dynamo. There is, therefore, provided an artificial. load that is cut into circuit across the feed wires in response to material increase in the speed of the dynamo and in proportion to such speed. As a matter of convenience, means for cutting in this artificial load will be first described, and thereafter the mechanism for opening and closing the water control gate.

The artificial load consists of a resistance coil including the sections 15, 16 and 17. One end of this coil is connected by the wire 18 with the feed wire 21 while the other end of the coil is connected by the wire 19 with the switch plates 211s The point of juncture of the sections 16 and 17 is con nected by wire 21 with the switch plates 2O while the point of juncture of the sections 15 and 1G is connected by the wire 23 with the switch plates 22.

A switch arm 25 is pivotally mounted to traverse the switch plates successively and this switch arm is in circuit with the feed wire 18 through the medium of the wires 2G and 2? so that as the switch arm is pivotally moved, it will out into circuit across the feed wires, a variable resistance.

nn insulating,` rest plate 28 is adjacent the switch plate 2O and it is upon this rest plate that the switch arm 25 is held normally through the medium of a. spring` 29 and by which it is returned to the rest plate when released from position in contact with any of the switch plates.

A governor is mounted on the shaft S and comprises a yoke 30 fixed to the shaft and having pivoted to its ends the angle levers 31 having balls 32 at their lower ends that are connected by the spring-s that serve to hold the balls yieldably against movement away from each other under the influence of centrifugal force when the balls rotate with the shaft S. A collar is splined on the shaft 30 and is connected by means of the links 35 with the other arms of the angle levers 31, whereby when the balls move outwardly or inwardly, the collar is correspondingly raised or lowered. The collar 34 has a cireumscribing groove 36 in which is engaged the head of a lift rod 37 that extends downwardly for a purpose to he presently explained, the head having` also an ear 38 that @verlies a linger 39 that projects from the switch arm at the opposite side of its pivot from the switch plates. Thus, when the governor is actuated by in creased speed, the collar 34 moves downwardly and the ear 38 pressingl on the linger 39 swings the switch arm Q5 first from the rest plate 28 to the switch plate 22, then to the switch plate 2O and then to the switch plate 24. lf then, the switch 27' or 'the switch 28 or both of them be opened to cut correspondingv load, so that the dynamo speeds up, there will be automatically thrown across the feed wire circuit a resista'ce in approximate inverse proportion to the speed of the armature. .als illustrated, the governor with the switch, is mounted within a casing Ll0 upon which the plate 13 is secured and which casing in turn is mounted upon a lower casing 3a, these casings with the dynamo and associated part being; supported upon a tower 14C that suitably supported upon the dam or other foundation.

'lhe casing 34 contains the gearing and clutches through the medium ol" which the water gate operating shaft 8 is reversely rotated to open and close the lgate in response to fluctuations in the position of the governor balls.

The gate actuatinff mechanism includes a worm 30 that is fixed on the main shaft 5i and stands between and engages two worin gears 31 whose respective shafts 32 are journaled in bewings F53 within the casini; 34.-. Each shaft 32 is alined with and pretcrably extends into a socket at one end ot a companion shaft 52 also journaled in l' rings i3 in the casing' 3l@ and the means ttor connecting' a shaft 32 with its compari-- :i

on 52 is best shown in Figures -l and 5. l'eyed to the shaft 32 is a small wheel 355 having projecting Vfrom one face a pair of pins 36, Vwhile on the enlarged sockcted end f the shaft is a large wheel :-il to which at :'36 a heel-z 57 is pivoted between its ends, its bill being` directed inward and normally thrown into engagement with one of said pins by a spring 58 carried by the pulley 5a.. The pendant or push rod 37 is connected at 418 with a rockev-.O hun?,- ou a shaft 41, and on 'the same shaft are also pivoted two arms 412 inojecting in opposite directions as seen, each 'attendingover a Yoot 413 at one end of the rocker and having its outer end 4:9 standing normally in the path of the outer end 59 of one orn thel hooks. Pivoted to the arm at its outer end is a latch le having,- its tip hooked downward as at for engagement with a notch 46 in the edge of the wheeh engagen'ient being maintained by a spring 47 when the ends 49 and 59 of the arm and hook contact as seenlili;

rection, so that it is the shaft 52 at the other Keyed to each shaft 52 is a wheel 62 to which is pivoted a p awl 61 borne normally outward` by a spring 60. Loose on the shaft is a larger wheel 63 having one end cupped to enclose the smalle-r wheel and provided with internal ratchet teeth 64 andthe other end formed into a gear pinion 65. The two p'inions 65 in Figure 3 are in constant mesh with an interposed gear 66 fast on a shaft 67 mounted in bearings 68 in and extending outward through the wall of the casing 34', and this shaft carries a worm 69 engaging the segment or gear The operation of the parts Just described is as follows: Rotation of the main shaft S is communicated through the worm 30 and gears 31 t0 the two worm shafts 32. which are of course turned in opposite d irections simultaneously along with their small wheels 35 as shown by the arrows in Figure 4. If now we assume that the motor accelerates its speed, the weights of the governor G will iy outward, t e push rod 37 will move downward, and the rocker 40 will be turned on its pivotal shaft 41 so as to raise the left hand arm 42 in Figure 4. The tip 49 of this arm disengages the outer end 59 of the hook, the spring 58 behind the latter rocks it so that vits bill moves inward, and the next pin 36 on the moving wheel 35 engages the hook and causes the large wheel 54 to turn with the small one. This turns one of the shafts 52 through the engagement of the pawl 61 and ratchet 64, while the other shaft 52 remains stationary. The gear pinions 65 turns the gear. 66 and shaft 67, and the worm 69 meshing with the gear 9 slowly turns the flexible shaft 8 whose arm 6 is connected by a link 5 with the gate 4; and the latter moves to reduce the flow of the water, and therefore to check the speed of the motor. With an increase in load that slows the sha-ft S below normal the governor G acts oppositely, the raised arm 42 drops and strikes the outer end 59 of the trip hook 57 the next time it comes around with the wheel 54. Wheel 54 is thus disconnected from the wheel 35', and the shafts 32 may continue to rotate without having further effect on the motive fluid control C. Conversely, if the main shaft had retarded its rotation, or if now the rotation of this shaft is at too slow a speed, the approach of the governor weights 23 toward the shaft will raise the push rod 37 and swing the rocker 40 in the opposite diside of the shaft 67 which is turned, and the result is to open the gate at the control C. As seen in Figure 3, the main shaft rotates the two worm shafts 32 continuously `and the movement of the governor in either direction will swing the corresponding arm 42 so as to clutch the corresponding shaft 32 to its companion shaft 52, and as these shafts 52 are connected by pawl and ratchet mechanism and gearing with the shaft 67, one of them may turn it inone direction while the other shaft 52 remains idle. With the shaft ,S operating at normal neither shaft 32 is Tin rotation. e Y' Vith the structure thus described `itwill be fully vunderstood that with no load onthe dynamo, Ythe turbine will rotate at a normal speed with the water supply correspondingly diminished. As soon as a load is cut into the line circuit, however, the corresponding tendency of the apparatus to slow down effects operation of the governor to open the water-control so as to increase the water supply Vand to provide the additional energy required for operation of the dynamo, the acceleration of the dynamo being, of course, more or less gradual.

When the load is taken from the line circuit, the immediate tendency of the apparatus is to speed up and the governor to operate -to cut down the water supply. This cutting down operation, however, is of neces sit-y more or less gradual and it is possible that in the interim, the racing of the apparatus may effect injury to it. It is to supply an `artificial load during the period of reduction of speed of the apparatus to normal, that the resistance is provided. The cutting in and out of the artificial load with a step by step action, is to provide against material upward fluctuations in speed as the resistance is cut out.

It is found in practice that these two colitrols have complete cooperation so that the apparatus when set up may be adjusted so as to be entirely automatic in maintaining proper working conditions.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with a motor and its main shaft, a motor control, a shaft leading from the control, a worm-wheel on the lastnamed shaft, and a drivenshaft having a worm engaging said worm-wheel of parallel drive shafts oppositely rotated by said main shaft, driven shafts alined with them, clutches respectively connecting said shafts, pawl-and-ratchet connections between the first driven shaft and the parallel driven shafts, a governor on the main shaft, arms for respectively actuating said clutches, and connections between said governor and arms for actuating them independently according as the speed of the main shaft increases or decreases.

2. The combination with a motor and its Lmain sha-ft, a motor control, a shaft leading from the control, a worm-wheel on the lastnamed shaft, and a driven shaft having a worm engaging said wormfwheel; of arallel drive shafts oppositely rotated by said main shaft, driven shafts alined with them, clutches respectively connecting said shafts, pawl-and-ratchet connection between the rst driven shaftund the parallel driven shaft-s, a. governor on the main shaft, arms for respectively actuating seid Clutches and mounted on a common pvot, e rocker mounted on said pivot and having feet underlying the arms, and a rod Connecting the governor and rocker for swinging the latter and actuating the arms independently according as the speed of the main shaft increases or decreases,

In testimony whereof I affix my signature n the presence of two Witnesses.

ERNEST J. KOHMAN. Vitnesses MARY MCGARRY, WM. S. BELL. 

